On-line wet chemistry analyzers are used in a variety of industries to provide a continuous indication of a chemical in a process sample. This continuous indication can be provided locally by the analyzer and/or remotely to one or more suitable devices in order to provide control and/or monitoring of a chemical process.
One particular type of on-line wet chemistry analyzer is an on-line silica analyzer. These devices are configured to generate a reaction in the process sample that allows an indication of silica in the sample to be determined. Such analyzers are useful in determining silica content in boiler water, boiler feed water, demineralized water, and steam condensate. While such analyzers are useful in a variety of industries, they are of particular use in power plant boilers. In such systems, silica can form silicate deposits that can damage turbines and other generation equipment that are used in the water steam turbine cycle. Accordingly, power plants with high pressure turbines generally monitor silica carefully in order to ensure effective detection and removal/remediation. However, while the present discussion focuses on an exemplary silica analyzer, the methods and embodiments described herein may be applicable to analyzers drawn to measuring concentrations of other chemicals.
The discussion above is merely to provide for general background information, and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.